“Dale un dedo y se tomarâ hasta el codo” literally translates to “Give him a finger and he’ll take up to the elbow”. An equivalent colloquial phrase in English is “give him an inch and he’ll take a mile”.

When we wish to emphasize that someone is only human we say that “to be of flesh and blood”. The Spanish equivalent is a bit different: “ser de carne y hueso”. The translation is “to be of flesh and bone”.

Here are two idioms using “cuello”, which means “neck”. “Me juego el cuello a que …” literally translates to “I’d bet my neck that …”. An equivalent phrase in English is “I’d bet anything that …”. The other phrase is “meter el cuello” which means “to stick the neck in”. The colloquial equivalent in English is “to put one’s nose to the grindstone”.